Baby Siwar back in hospital in Gaza after returning from treatment in Jordan

A one-year-old Palestinian girl, evacuated from Gaza with serious nutritional problems, is again hospitalized in the territory after being repatriated from Jordan. Siwar Ashour, whose story the BBC has been following for several months, was repatriated to Gaza on December 3 after completing her medical treatment in Amman.

She had spent six months in hospital there as part of a medical evacuation program run by the Kingdom of Jordan. Her grandmother, Sahar Ashour, said she fell ill three days after returning.

“She started having diarrhea and vomiting and it keeps getting worse. The diarrhea won’t go away,” she told an independent journalist working for the BBC in Gaza. International journalists have been barred by Israel from entering Gaza independently since the war began almost two years ago.

Siwar is being treated at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in the central Gaza Strip, where Dr Khalil al-Daqran told the BBC that she is “receiving the necessary treatment, but the situation is still bad for her.” The doctor said Siwar was suffering from a gastrointestinal infection. His immune system is weak, making it difficult to fight bacteria. She also has difficulty absorbing nutrients, which means she needs specialized infant formula.

Dr Daqran said Gaza’s hospitals – many of which were badly damaged by Israeli bombing and nearby fighting with Hamas before the ceasefire took effect in October – were seeing an increase in child admissions. Poor hygiene conditions caused by the destruction of vital infrastructure have led to the spread of infections and diseases.

“Since the announcement of the ceasefire, the number of child patients arriving at hospitals in the Gaza Strip is three times the capacity… The situation at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is no different from that of other hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

“It suffers from a serious shortage of medicines and medical supplies, as well as a serious shortage of electrical generators, which are the main artery for running a hospital.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the humanitarian needs in Gaza as “staggering, with current aid meeting only the most basic survival needs.”

Siwar was evacuated to Jordan in June after the BBC reported on her case and raised it directly with Jordanian authorities.

Jordanian Communications Minister Dr. Mohammed al-Momani told us that Siwar was among 45 children sent back to Gaza after completing treatment. Under the evacuation program, all patients are discharged after receiving medical care.

I pointed out to Dr al-Momani that people might find it difficult to accept that a child in such a vulnerable condition could be returned to Gaza under current conditions.

“No patient is discharged before the end of their medical treatment…the first reason [why they are returned] is that it will allow us to bring more patients from Gaza. We can’t take them all at once. We have to take them in batches. So far we have taken 18 lots.

“The second reason is that we do not want to contribute in any form to the displacement of Palestinians from their land and all patients are informed… that after treatment you are sent away so that other patients and other children can be brought in for treatment.”

Jordan also treats the war wounded in its field hospital in Gaza and has provided aid via airdrops and road convoys. The kingdom hosts more than 2 million Palestinian refugees, who have fled conflicts with Israel since 1948, and 500,000 refugees from other countries, most of them Syrian.

Since last March, some 300 sick and injured children and 730 parents and guardians have been brought to Jordan out of a planned 2,000 for treatment. Other countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, have treated thousands of sick civilians from Gaza.

The specialized formula milk Siwar needs was either unavailable or in very short supply during the ongoing conflict. In March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on Gaza, which was partially lifted after 11 weeks. Since the ceasefire, aid deliveries have increased, although the UN and aid agencies say there are not enough humanitarian supplies.

Jordanian authorities provided Siwar’s family with 12 doses of the hypoallergenic formula Neocate when they left for Gaza. However, his mother Najwa told us that Israeli authorities confiscated much of what was given to them: nine of their 12 cans were seized.

“They told us, ‘It’s forbidden to take more than these cans,'” said Siwar’s mother, Najwa Ashour. “Even though it was therapeutic milk and they said the treatment was allowed, they still took it.”

She also said that extra clothes the family received in Jordan had been confiscated. “They searched us from top to bottom. When they saw us wearing clothes on top of each other [layered] They refused to let us go out and told us: “You must take off all your clothes, down to one item of clothing.” »

I asked the Israeli government why the formula and clothing were confiscated? They responded that limits were placed on what could be taken back for “security considerations.”

They said only a minimum amount of luggage was allowed and that this had been relayed to Jordanian authorities and returning families. “In cases where baggage exceeded the permitted range, entry was refused.”

The WHO has called on more countries to offer medical evacuation to patients who cannot get the necessary treatment in Gaza.

He also called on the Israeli government to allow treatment of patients in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, “which is the quickest and most cost-effective route.” Israel stopped allowing such evacuations after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped in Gaza.

Siwar’s family has received Neocate formula since their return to Gaza. There have also been donations of money, including funds raised through online appeals. Jordanian representatives in Gaza also visited the family to provide assistance.

The Ashours are trying to evacuate Siwar once again – a process that began with the issuance of a permit by Palestinian health authorities. It will be managed by the WHO, which processes all requests for evacuation from a place that the UN describes as “wasteland”.

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